


the 1 – side b

by austinbarry



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Childhood Friends, Coffee Shop, College AU, First Love, Flashback, Fluff, M/M, Roommates, Smut, makoharu - Freeform, side sourin - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:07:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27702520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/austinbarry/pseuds/austinbarry
Summary: If life was a cliché, but everything was great, why bother changing it? This is a story where Makoto and Haruka sip their coffee during their break and they ponder on how their relationship came to where it is now... among other things.A spin-off of the chapter “the 1” from an upcoming one-shot series.
Relationships: Nanase Haruka/Tachibana Makoto
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12
Collections: Tachibana Makoto Birthday Exchange 2020





	the 1 – side b

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blueyeddrabble](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueyeddrabble/gifts).



> Happiest birthday to our dearest Makoto! Hope you enjoy this little story of mine!

Many times, Makoto Tachibana had thought of college as a true cliche. By his understanding, a lot of people older than him have said pretty much the same things about their experiences in furthering their education, not to mention that the representation it entailed in pop culture—college was a hell hole. But between its fiery pits of doom laid other cliche stuff as well. For one, there were the cutesy study sessions in nearby cafes.

Ah yes, Makoto, within his senior year of studying communications, had become all too familiar with the trope. It was the perfect way to set up stories, at least in his opinion. It was a neutral space, where most of the time, the main character had no control on whoever was going to walk through the door. In every story, there consisted of a jolt—an event that would change the equilibrium of the main character’s daily life; one that would begin their journey of transformation, much like a butterfly wing flap that would eventually become a tornado. Yes, Makoto knew of the power of the cafe stories.

It was always the same atmosphere too. A quiet afternoon, mostly after morning classes, one would hang out with their notebooks sprawled on a small round table. The place was always serene—a nature-oriented paradise in the middle of a daunting city. A drink that was hot some time ago sat half-consumed nearby the academic papers as a folky song quietly hummed in the background. And as Makoto thought: it was a cliche, but sometimes that wasn’t really a bad thing because they still managed to start a story.

This one began as a pleasant surprise to the green-eyed boy who was mulling over his half-finished matcha tea and procrastinating on his essay when the person that came through the door was his best friend Haruka Nanase. Makoto smiled, but didn’t make himself noticed and simply watched as Haru glazed over the chalkboard menu while the barista waited for him to order.

But Makoto knew what his best friend was going to order. It was the same every time, no matter how long Haru pondered over what the cafe offered.

“A grande fruity white tea and mackerel club sandwich, please,” Haru ordered politely, and Makoto grinned, slightly joyful at how he was right. It was at this time that Haru had noticed his best friend’s olive green hair, and beckoned a wave towards him, to which Makoto waved back and made a gesture to invite the blue-eyed boy to sit with him.

Gently, Makoto pulled his stuff towards himself to make room for Haru to sit in front of him. It was the proper thing to do, and if Makoto was anything, he was a proper person. Haru, however, was more nonchalant, and only chuckled as he saw his best friend fixing up his stuff so neatly. He ignored the seat in front of Makoto’s couch, and instead moved his green-eyed friend’s bag away so they could sit side by side.

“You could have at least told me so I didn’t make a fuss,” Makoto commented, slightly giggling as his and Haru’s knees touched while the blue-eyed boy set his order down.

“Makoto, it’s you,” Haru replied in a dismissive tone as he laid his head on the taller boy’s shoulder. “You always make a fuss.”

And right then and there, Makoto had thought that if all cliches were like this, then maybe he had grown into liking them. See, as a communication major, Makoto was taught to be more creative, more out there than the regular folk. He was expected to create richer, better stories that could help expand the culture of arts and entertainment. An extremely overwhelming order for a young man not even out of college, but if he was being honest, cliches like this were safe and sound. They were warm and even if it was cheesy, there were still butterflies in his stomach. If something like this was already great as it is, why attempt to change it at all?

It was quite obvious to say, but Makoto was happy in their own little bubble. Just him and Haru without a disturbance from the world—

“Haru! Makoto!” A voice boomed throughout the cafe as its doors popped open.

It was as Makoto said—the main character had no control on whoever was going to walk through those cafe doors, and he was walking towards them as he thought of this.

“What do you want?” Haru said monotonously, eyeing his redheaded friend. Rin Matsuoka had walked in with sweat on his forehead and a huff in his breath. Makoto sometimes thought that Haru needed to cut Rin some slack but he knew they’ve been like this since they were kids. No use trying to change that now.

Rin had to catch his breath first, before he spoke, “I need your help.”

Alright, see, Makoto and Haru were good friends with Rin, and that was exactly the reason it was so surprising for them to see their friend to ask for help. Mr. Rin Matsuoka, known as the independent boy from their high school, and was even voted most likely to be a CEO, asking Makoto Tachibana and Haruka Nanase who often lived in their own world, for help. With what, however? Rin was pretty much able to handle himself quite well. The two simply could not make heads or tails with this sudden outburst.

Haru only thought of worst case scenarios for this event to occur. “Did… did you kill someone and need us to help hide a body?” Haru asked carefully, a worried expression on his face. Makoto was worried too, but not for Rin. He hadn’t seen Haru react that way to anything ever, and what’s more worrying to the green-eyed boy was that he was pretty sure Haru was asking seriously.

“No, idiot. If I was gonna kill anybody, it would be you,” Rin replied as he sat down in front of the two, annoyed.

“Then… what is it?” Makoto asked this time, more of an attempt to stop Haru from retaliating which would lead to a full-blown argument between the two and they would never get to the bottom of this.

Rin sighed, then tried to relax by laying back but couldn’t really bring himself to do so for some reason. If Makoto was being honest, it was rare for them to see their friend like this. If anything, they were on the opposite sides this time. It was usual for Makoto and Haru to squabble over minute things like what they should eat for dinner back in the dorm. Makoto would try to suggest anything but mackerel, but Haru wouldn’t agree to it. And then Rin would just bang his head on the table as the two went on and on until Makoto conceded and then Haru would feel bad. Rin barely bothered anymore with these two because they always come out of the other side with that same result every single argument.

Now, it seemed that Rin was squabbling with himself, but unlike him, Makoto and Haru didn’t know what would come out of this or how they would deal with it.

“It’s about… Sousuke,” Rin began to spill, lightly blushing and refusing to look at the pair.

“Sousuke Yamazaki? Your school president?” Haru asked, to which Makoto nodded for Rin since they went to the same school. “What about him?”

Makoto shook his head, then squeezed Haru’s hand to catch his attention. With a grin from the green-eyes boy, Haru had finally understood what was going on, and he didn’t know how to react. On one hand, he wanted to be happy for his friend. Rin wasn’t a person who was too keen on love and relationships. He was driven with his dreams for himself and for his career, and Haru had thought that maybe it was because of those that Rin didn’t give much thought on other things. But also, on the other hand, it was amusing to Haru—thinking about how his usually cool and calm friend was getting all flustered and blushy over a guy. The latter sentiment seemed to be showing more on Haru’s face as a grin crept up on his face, to which Rin caught up on.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up, Haru,” Rin begged, still refusing to look at any of his friends. “Damn it, this is really… hard for me, okay? I just—“ Rin couldn’t even finish his own sentences.

Makoto chuckled, but not to make fun of his perplexed friend, but to assure him that it was okay. “Oh, Rin, it’s okay,” he started, trying to be as warm as possible, because he knew his next sentence was heavy. “To start, how do you feel about him?”

Rin was caught off guard. Of course he was, it was Makoto’s special move. He’d lure you in with his smooth and welcoming voice and smile, then drop a simple question on paper but felt like a thousand needles in execution. But the worst part was he waited patiently for you to actually be ready to answer. Who was like that in real life? So nice yet so piercing at the same time. Unreal.

“I… don’t know,” Rin responded, fiddling with the hem of his sleeves. “I just like… being with him.”

Makoto and Haru were taken aback at the straightforward confession, but more so at the sight in front of them. It was nothing more than another version of a remnant of their past—a time where Makoto and Haru cherished so dearly. Rin was exactly how they both were before they started going out: unsure, scared, but overflowing with emotions.

“I just wanted to know… like, with the two of you,” Rin continued, now looking between Makoto and Haru. “How did you two figure it out?”

To answer that question the short way, Haru would have simply said, “It’s just a matter of allowing yourselves to grow together.”

However, to answer that question the long way, which was the way Rin would want anyway, you’d have to go back a little ways back…

If Makoto was being honest with himself, he wasn’t much of… an experienced person before Haru—he wasn’t really sure what he was at all when it comes to relationships. All he knew was this raven-haired boy was someone he had been in love with but at the same time, he was comfortable enough to remain as friends. There was yearning, of course, for he couldn’t help it. How could he? They grew up together in their little hometown, and were basically inseparable ever since. And things often come into fruition, especially young men like the two of them. The moment they left their hometown for the big city for college and got their own places, they not only discovered themselves but more so each other. It started quite hazily, however. As freshmen, they took their classes a bit more seriously. To be fair, Makoto had always taken school seriously. But one night, at the end of their fall semester, Haru asked Makoto if he wanted to go out and have coffee with him. Initially, Makoto just thought Haru wanted some coffee and he was just asking for accompaniment since they had studied all night. But then when they were in line, he noticed Haru being more silent than usual and admittedly a bit flustered. Makoto being Makoto thought his blue-eyed friend was simply tired, or at least that was the way his brain rationalized it. There was no way Haru just asked him out on a date, and their walk back was supposed to be a romantic and cute moment for both of them. There was simply no way. It was just two dudes getting coffee. That was it. No more, no less.

“Stupid Makoto,” Haru mumbled before sipping his hot drink as they near their dorm buidling, and the green-eyed boy heard it. Haru rolled his eyes and then looked ahead, obviously avoiding furthering the conversation.

“Eh!? Did I do something wrong, Haru?” Makoto asked, genuinely worried if he offended his best friend or something. Haru didn’t answer, and eventually, they were in front of their dorm room.

That Sunday afternoon, in that rarely peaceful hallway of their little building, stood a concerned Makoto and an annoyed Haru. As they made their way inside, the taller boy was still badgering questions to his best friend, desperately wanting to fix what he had apparently broken. They put their drinks down, and shed off their coats, and Haru attempted to make his way to the bathroom, but Makoto placed his hands on Haru’s shoulders and turned him around.

“Please tell me, what’s wrong, Haru,” Makoto begged, choking back a sob. Haru’s eyes widened at the sight of his best friend’s beautiful green eyes glistening. “I’m so… confused,” he added as he hanged his head down, emotions unable to stop.

“Makoto,” Haru cooed, heart beating faster. “You stupid, stupid boy.”

“Eh?” Makoto looked up, only to be greeted by a quick kiss on the lips. “...EHHH?”

Haru had pulled away before Makoto broke in front of him. He was pretty sure Makoto was broken way before that kiss though, seeing as how he forgot it was his birthday. Haru had this big speech in his head on how he’d confess to his best friend, and he even had a cute stuffed orca and a box of chocolates as a gift for when they got back. He was just waiting for Makoto to pick up on all his signals, but instead it induced a breakdown. Haru felt bad, but deep inside, he was gushing over the feeling of Makoto’s lips on his.

“Stupid, stupid Makoto,” Haru huffed, bringing out his gifts from his bedroom as the boy was in the living room hugging a throw pillow, blushing beet red. “I got you these.”

“H-Haru…?” Makoto squeaked, shaky and lips still ablaze from being kissed for the first time. “I…”

“I’m sorry if I did it too quickly,” Haru chimed in. “But… Yeah, Makoto, I just like… being with you.”

Makoto looked up at the gifts being offered to him, and sure this wasn’t quite like the confessions he had seen on TV and the movies, but… with the sight of his beautiful best friend in front of him—everything was perfect because it was exactly how they would do these types of things. It was clumsy, it was all over the place, it was extremely dumb—and though they didn’t realize it at the time, they eventually did fall in love with how this moment came to be.

With the confidence Makoto managed to muster up, he stood in front of his raven-haired best friend, closed his eyes and pulled him in for another kiss. Haru was surprised, but eventually melted into it.

And that was the day they figured it out—that they belonged to each other, even if they already were with each other all this time. 

It was the answer Rin was looking for in his question. But was it the right answer to his situation? The two were having a feeling that Rin thought that all relationships worked like how they worked. Makoto and Haru are Makoto and Haru, and Rin and Sousuke are Rin and Sousuke. They could provide perspective, but ultimately not predict the outcome of their connection. Makoto and Haru could only hope that they gave their confused friend enough advice to help ease his mind a bit. They could only wish him luck.

The following day came, and as college students in their final year, they either had nothing to do or a whole lot to do. Unfortunately, today was one of the days where Makoto was going to need to power through. They had a film to finish—a rite of passage for any communication student before graduating and taking on the world. But even if the situation were such, Makoto and Haru… “spent a lot of time together” last night and didn’t sleep until deep into the night. 

If anything was apparent about one Makoto Tachibana, it was that he was never late. This wasn’t a joke at all; even on the day of his birth, Makoto came into the world on the very day the doctor told his parents he would. There was literally only 4% chance of that happening. It reflected as well even as he grew up. “Makoto, the punctual boy” was what their neighbor Ms. Nakamura had called him throughout the years. But much like everyone else, there were just some times where Makoto would mess that up—and much to his chagrin, today was one of those days.

Makoto’s phone had vibrated underneath his bed for about an hour now, flooded with texts from his classmate Asahi Shiina about his whereabouts. One would think that people who were in college were more responsible with themselves. Regardless, he elicited a groan, opening his dry and sensitive green eyes. The sunlight illuminated his somewhat messy dorm room, and the constant coarse humming of his phone wasn’t quite processing in his foggy mind. In his bedhead, it was a quaint spring morning inside their own little room—away from responsibilities and pretty much the entire world. A paradise untouched by the tumultuous city.

Yes, all was indeed peaceful, until Makoto’s thoughts recollected itself. 

In a flash, as if a siren was blasted in his mind, he panickedly stood up, exclaiming, “I’m late!” With a gust of wind in his trail, he rushed to his bathroom across his studio dorm room. Makoto brushed his teeth and showered in record time, a trail of toothpaste on his chin and his towel barely staying on his hips. Mimicking his world record in showering, he was in his outfit in a heartbeat. He was huffing, and his chest was pulsating rapidly. Makoto hated this feeling, but couldn’t really get into his emotions that moment. All he wanted to do was be in class in the blink of an eye.

So he sat back down on his bed, putting on socks as quick as he could. Before Makoto could reach for his shoes, a pair of slender arms snaked around his chest, and then there was a warmth radiating on his back—no, it was more of a heat. Fiery fiery heat. A temperature only set off by one of the most chill people he knew: his best friend, Haruka Nanase, and was also the reason Makoto was late.

“Leaving already?” Haru mumbled in a morning voice that made Makoto hitch his breath. Shamelessly naked underneath Makoto’s comforter, he raised his head to breathe on his best friend’s neck. Peppering it with kisses, Haru whispered, “I’ll miss you.”

Makoto exhaled deeply, trying not to give rise to any problems. “I’ll be back before you know it,” he replied breathlessly, and he had to slap himself internally for being so weak to Haru. He had always been so weak when it came to him, even on their first time.

Ah, their first time. What a wild roller coaster that was.

Makoto remembered that he and Haru decided to have a study night. Makoto had been wracking his brain over the history of Japanese media for half an hour while quaint Haru was breezing through his minor subjects. Most people expect their “first” time to be beautiful, planned out, and cinematic even. Theirs? Well…

“Hey, Makoto. Let’s have sex,” Haru piped up nonchalantly, leaving the green-eyed boy completely dumbfounded. “That is if you want to.”

Makoto was confused. Severely and utterly confused. He wasn’t even sure if Haru was joking, and he knew in his heart that Haru had never told a joke in his life. Makoto was blushing, and he couldn’t lie to himself and say that he didn’t want Haru. He wanted him bad. So bad. He could jump him in a flash and make love to him until daybreak. Though he knew he could never actually do that, as shown by this moment. Of course, fantasy is always different from reality, and when reality suddenly became like his fantasies... he was sure he was losing it.

Haru had stared into his eyes for the past minute or so, patiently waiting for his best friend to answer, not even choosing to comment how Makoto was tomato red and was sweating a bit. He just waited.

“H-Haru…” Makoto shakily uttered, almost pinching himself because there was no way this was real. He wasn’t surprised, he was extremely shocked. This was gonna be his first time—first proper one. And even in his embarrassment, he managed to admit, “I’m scared.”

The blue-eyed boy next to him smiled, and took his hand. “Wanna know something?” he asked as he placed Makoto’s hand on his chest. “I am too,” he said with a small smile as he let him feel his rapid heartbeat.

Makoto flashed a smile back, even managing a chuckle.

In a stunning turn of events, Haru blushed deeply, and couldn’t look at Makoto in the eyes anymore. It was a sight to see; a person Makoto had regarded with such grace and calmness, flustering over their interactions. It almost brought a tear to his eyes.

“But… I want to. I really want to,” Haru confessed, leaning his head into the green-eyed boy’s warm chest. “I want.. I want you to have me, Makoto.”

Heart’s ablaze, Makoto took Haru’s chin in his hand and lifted it up; his soft eyes meeting Haru’s glossy ones, and as if the world stopped, their lips met as a tear fell down Haru’s eyes.

It was beautiful. These were two boys who had each other ever since their childhood. They grew up into two fine young men together. First friend, first hug, first fight, first kiss… first time. It was an overflow of emotions and of pleasure. Each wave of their bodies eliciting moans of ecstacy, and the sweat off their backs soaking the sheets. Lights were dim, and their study aids were left lying on the floor next to their discarded clothes. The moonlight shone upon them as they fulfilled each other.

Haru was in heaven as he felt his own best friend inside him, and every time Makoto hit the right spot, he pulled him tighter inside with his legs. “Ma…koto,” he moaned, arching his back to pull Makoto in a hug, to which the green-eyed boy took the opportunity to kiss him on the neck.

“Haru,” Makoto called hoarsely as he marked him on his neck over and over while continuing to make love to him. Every movement he made, he assured that it would make Haru feel every ounce of pleasure, and it reflected on the raven-haired boy’s face every single time.

They went all out now, exerting their energies as they chased their climaxes. A tear fell down Haru’s eyes as they reached their peak and his best friend filled him up. Makoto kissed the tears away. In the haze of their aftersex, they lied into each other tightly as the smell of their bodies lingered in their small world.

“My Haru-chan,” Makoto whispered and placed a small kiss on Haru’s forehead as he started to doze off from exhaustion. Not long after, the sun greeted them warmly.

Crap, Makoto really shouldn’t have thought about their first time; not when he was running late for class already. Meanwhile, Haru left one last mark on his best friend’s neck, and slowly slid away his hands. Makoto was free to go, but he didn’t get up.

“Stupid Haru-chan,” Makoto growled, proceeding to ravage his partner with hungry and lustful kisses to which the smaller boy only moaned at. 

Haru knew that he was doing, of course, but the soft and sensible Makoto transforming into a wild beast always caught him off-guard.

“You’re gonna be late for class,” Haru said cheekily as Makoto began to pepper kisses on the inside of his thighs. A fire was in Makoto’s eyes, telling Haru that he had let go of all the crap he gave, to which he only laughed at. “Stupid Makoto.”

Another cliche is that college folks have a lot of sex. In Makoto’s book, it was one of the best cliches. Makoto wasn’t sure how they went from cute and domestic to wild and carnal, but he reckoned that it was just them having a growing experience together. It was great.

And in general, being young felt great. Responsibilities didn’t weigh down that much, and if you mess up, you could just try again tomorrow. But the bestest part for Makoto? It was that it didn’t matter who else would walk through that cafe door—or any door—and invade his neutral space. He had his Haru with him, head resting on his shoulder as they sip their tea and uphold their many cliches.

Boy meets boy, grabs coffee more times than they should, then have lots of sex while their ringing phones were being ignored—a love story for the ages.

**Author's Note:**

> To my giftee: I know you said you liked a lot of smut, but that’s honestly my weak point. I hope you still enjoyed the story though!
> 
> To everyone: Yes, I’m working on a one-shot series based off of ALL the songs on Taylor Swift’s “folklore” album. I hope you all will take a read at it once it’s all up! It’ll feature all your favorite ships from Free! so keep an eye out!


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